The ATLAS detector (AToroidal LHC ApparatuS) is the world’s largest general-purpose particle detector, measuring 46 meters long, 25 metres high and 25 meters wide; it weighs 7000 tons and consists of 100 million sensors that measure particles produced in proton-proton collisions in CERN’s Large Hadron Collider. The first piece of ATLAS was installed in 2003 and since then many detector elements have journeyed down the 100 metre shaft into the ATLAS underground cavern. This last piece (lowered in March 2008) completed this gigantic puzzle.

ATLAS may also provide the answer for the mysterious dark matter and energy of the Universe and look for extra dimensions of spacetime. This detector is designed to be capable of discovering new particles and new phenomena expected from extensions of the Standard Model such as supersymmetry, and it was with CMS the key to discover the Higgs boson.

Xabier CidVidal, PhD in experimental Particle Physics for Santiago University (USC). Research Fellow in experimental Particle Physics at CERN from January 2013 to Decembre 2015. Currently, he is in USC Particle Physics Department ("Ramon y Cajal", Spanish Postdoctoral Senior Grants).

Ramon Cid Manzano, secondary school Physics Teacher at IES de SAR (Santiago - Spain), and part-time Lecturer (Profesor Asociado) in Faculty of Education at the University of Santiago (Spain). He has a Degree in Physics and in Chemistry, and is PhD for Santiago University (USC).